red1

/rɛd/

noun

1.

any of a group of colours, such as that of a ripe tomato or fresh blood, that lie at one end of the visible spectrum, next to orange, and are perceived by the eye when light in the approximate wavelength range 740–620 nanometres falls on the retina. Red is the complementary colour of cyan and forms a set of primary colours with blue and green related adjectives rubicund ruddy

2.

a pigment or dye of or producing these colours

3.

red cloth or clothing: dressed in red

4.

a red ball in snooker, billiards, etc

5.

(in roulette and other gambling games) one of two colours on which players may place even bets, the other being black

6.

(archery) Also called inner. a red ring on a target, between the blue and the gold, scoring seven points

7.

(informal) in the red, in debit; owing money

8.

(informal) see red, to become very angry

adjective redder, reddest

9.

of the colour red

10.

reddish in colour or having parts or marks that are reddish: red hair, red deer

11.

having the face temporarily suffused with blood, being a sign of anger, shame, etc

12.

(of the complexion) rosy; florid

13.

(of the eyes) bloodshot

14.

(of the hands) stained with blood, as after committing murder

15.

bloody or violent: red revolution

16.

(of wine) made from black grapes and coloured by their skins

17.

denoting the highest degree of urgency in an emergency; used by the police and the army and informally (esp in the phrase red alert)

Along with dead, bread (n.), lead (n.1), the vowel shortened in Middle English. The surname Read/Reid retains the original Old English long vowel pronunciation and is the corresponding surname to Brown-, Black, White.

The color designation of Native Americans in English from 1580s. The color as characteristic of "British possessions" on a map is attested from 1885. Red-white-and-blue in reference to American patriotism, from the colors of the flag, is from 1840; in a British context, in reference to the Union flag, 1852. The red flag was used as a symbol of defiance in battle on land or sea from c.1600. To see red "get angry" is an American English expression first recorded 1898. Red rover, the children's game, attested from 1891. Red light as a sign to stop is from 1849, long before traffic signals. As the sign of a brothel, it is attested from 1899. As a children's game (in reference to the traffic light meaning) it is recorded from 1953.

Red-letter day (late 14c.) was originally a saint's day, marked on church calendars in red letters. Red ball signifying "express" in railroad jargon is 1904, originally (1899) a system of moving and tracking freight cars. Red dog, type of U.S. football pass rush, is recorded from 1959. Red meat is from 1808. Red shift in spectography is first recorded 1923. Red carpet "sumptuous welcome" is from 1934, but the custom for dignitaries is described as far back as Aeschylus ("Agamemnon"); it also was the name of a type of English moth.

"Bolshevik," 1917, from red (adj.1), the color they adopted for themselves. Association in Europe of red with revolutionary politics (on notion of blood and violence) is from at least 1297, but got a boost 1793 with adoption of the red Phrygian cap (French bonnet rouge) as symbol of the French Revolution. First specific political reference in English was 1848 (adj.), in news reports of the Second French Republic (a.k.a. Red Republic). Red China is from 1934. The noun meaning "radical, communist" is from 1851.